West Main

UNDERGROUND WATER

 

My birthplace was in prairie country above an underground reservoir, known as the Ogallala Aquifer. This immense body of water underlies much of the Great Plains of the western United States and stretches from South Dakota to Texas. Our farm was in southeast Colorado, in Baca County, where two small mountains interrupted the otherwise flat landscape and gave our nearby town its colorful name...Two Buttes. (Buttes do not really qualify as mountains, but they were a welcome relief as a landmark.)

 

 

That part of the country was exceptionally dry most of the time and was probably not meant for our kind of farming. Once covered by buffalo grass, it had sustained an Indian population before they were displaced onto reservations. The hardy grass roots had kept the soil from blowing away with the ever-present winds. Tilled ground, in contrast, was in constant danger of wind erosion. During the great drought of the 1930s, dust storms clouded the skies, and land prices fell to five dollars an acre due to the flight of many farmers, including my father.

 

 

In the midst of this bleak picture of that dry dusty world, life was really not that bad. We had a windmill with piping reaching downward some three hundred feet into the waters of the Ogallala Aquifer. It was not a lake in the same sense as those on top of the ground, but was a deep layer of sand that was saturated with water. Its waters were cool and naturally fluoridated, so that those born there usually had strong teeth.

 

 

With a windmill and storage tanks, gardening was possible, and we were able to survive with a small dairy, horses, pigs and poultry, all of which were possible because of the generous flow of water from the windmill. This was also the time of the Great Depression and hard times for city dwellers who did not have gardens and a cellar full of home-canned food.

 

 

Looking back on the scenes of my childhood, I am thankful for God’s provision of aquifers. Because an abnormal amount of heat is required to evaporate water, it is possible for it to exist in storage in liquid form. Aquifers then take their place alongside oceans and lakes – natural and manmade – as ready for the many needs of people for water.

 

 

Ground water, such as that in aquifers, has made much of the earth habitable that would otherwise be wasteland. The Great Plains have been the breadbasket for much of the world, aided by this very special storage place for water. On a sad note, extensive irrigation is rapidly depleting the store of water in the Ogallala. We are spendthrifts in our use of God’s blessings.

 

 

In recent years, farmers have learned to deal with the harsh climate of my homeland. Considerable progress has been made in controlling wind erosion of the soil. Farms are much larger and mechanized, with many farmers now living in town. Waterworks there still depend on the Ogallala. Droughts remain as a threat, but are survivable with God’s special help. His designs are many and wonderful!

– James Gibbs

 

 

 

 

TEENS AND TRUST

 

One of the most important things that you can have from your parents is their trust. When your parents trust you, you will find it is much easier to get permission to do all those things you want to do. But when they don’t trust you – you can just about forget it.

 

 

You should do everything humanly possible to protect that trust. How? Let me give a couple of suggestions. First, be willing to answer their questions about who, where, and what concerning your activities. I know you think they are being nosey, but that’s a parent’s job. When you act like you don’t want to answer or you resent their questions, they begin thinking you must be involved in something that is wrong. Their trust begins to waver.

 

 

Secondly, be honest. If you tell them you are going to the ball game – be there. If you say you got back from a youth activity at 10:00 p.m. – be sure it’s true. If you say you’re attending the Youth Devotional – be there. When parents catch you in just ONE lie, it makes them very reluctant to trust you the next time.

 

 

Parents, unless your child has given you reason to believe otherwise, trust in them must be automatic. Teens, if you have your parents’ trust, protect it at all costs. Your happiness may depend on it.

 

David Johnson / Greenville, KY

via Garden Valley Church of Christ

 

 

 

West Main Fall Seminar is scheduled for October 18 & 20, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the auditorium and during our Sunday morning class and sermon times on the 21^st.   We will have a luncheon and discussion time following our morning service. Child care will be provided during our seminar times. Our theme this year is:

 

“Submission: Subordination or Freedom?”

Our general topics for the seminar will be:

1. The Theology of Submission - What it is and What it is Not

2. The Responsibility of Being Submitted To

3. The Responsibility of Submitting

4. Submitting to One Another in Matters of Faith and Disputable Matters

5. The Power of Submission

6. Living with Submission-Challenges and Prospects

Please plan to be a part of this seminar and invite your friends to come join us.

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

*Our Anniversary Sunday is coming up soon on October 28^th. Please invite your friends and former members as we celebrate Sixty-Two Years as a church family. We will have a potluck luncheon following the morning services.

 

* Prayer Vigil and Fasting , November 17-18

Our prayer time will be from 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. on November 17. Our Fasting time will be from 9:00 a.m. on Saturday to 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 18. We will break our fast with breakfast at the building at 8:00 a.m. on November 18.

 

* Prayer Concert  -- December 1 - More details to come.

 

 

 

Fireside Room Furniture  --   The Elders wish to thank everyone for their generous response to our request for extra donations for acquiring new tables and chairs for the Fireside Room.   We are pleased to announce that we have reached our goal of $6000.00 and will be ordering the furniture. Again, thank you for your generosity.

 

 

 

 

Prayer Requests . . . For Billie Kay Barnett who is in Avamere Three Fountains, Room 12, recovering from hip surgery...For Matthew York, who will be having brain surgery this week in Portland which will last from 6-12 hours. Please pray for the doctor and his abilities and for Matthew’s complete recovery...For friends of David Mayes, Cora, for her spiritual growth; Barbara, that she will accept Christ; Brandi to be successful in her classes; and for David to be more Christlike in his ways...For EEthel Flock’s physical health...For Nellie Kelton as she recovers from eye surgery this week...For Jenny Way to have continued progress with her brain injury...For Ryan Woods whose cancer has progressed and hospice has been called in. Please lift his family in prayer...For Eris Murphy to accept the choice for her mother’s move to San Francisco...For our President and all of our military men, women and families.

 

 

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Oct 28: Anniversary Sunday

Nov 17 - 18: Prayer Vigil and Fasting

Dec 1: Prayer Concert